


Run Into You

by brightlycoloredteacups



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Marvel Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-03-06 08:46:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13407639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightlycoloredteacups/pseuds/brightlycoloredteacups
Summary: Martina Rogers and Tony Stark continue to run into each other. Is it fate, or just a coincidence?





	1. Bad Day

Martina Rogers was having a bad day. This was the third coffee shop she had been to that just didn’t seem to be hiring. She went through a list of things it could be, her clothes, her hair, the fact that she wasn’t wearing any make up? She shook her head, there wasn’t anything she could do about any of those things.

A familiar feeling of panic wells within her. She quickly tamps it down. This is now, not then, she doesn’t have to panic. Despite her financial issues, she’d make it. Mrs. Burbank will let her work around the house for her keep, and she could always rely on her neighbors for odd jobs. She wasn’t going to go without a roof over her head. She’d finally found good people.

But what if they weren’t? The little voice in her head whispers. What if they’re just agents sent to watch you. She frowns, that can’t be right, all her neighbors are elderly people, at least people that can’t really do any damage to her. But what if? The voice says. What if? The panic is back, she finds herself walking a little faster, almost running, anxious get away from her thoughts. She’s waylaid by someone literally crashing into her. She falls over, the other person coming down with her.

“You can’t throw me out!” The man yells. “I’m Iron Man.”

“Yeah right buddy!” Someone yells back. Tina huffs and gets up, dusting herself off. “Excuse me, sir, are you alright?” She asks, walking over to him. The man blinks at her, blue eyes glassy with booze. “‘course ‘m a’right. I’m Iron Man.” He slurs, puffing out his chest. “Right.” Tina mutters, offering her hand to him. He takes it. She hauls him to his feet where he sways dangerously. She keeps a steadying hand on him while he wraps an arm around her shoulders. “You should see Stark Tower.” He slurs, waving his hand in the air. “Um, sure, lets get you home.” She says. They stand on a corner and wave down a taxi. 

The man began to sing loudly and so off key, she can’t help but wince every time he hits a high note. Eventually, a cab stops and she places him in it, making sure he’s buckled. “Stark Towers!” The man yells at the driver. Tina gives him an apologetic look. “You got any money?” The driver asks. The drunk blinks for a few moments. He began to pat himself down, then giggles. “Nope! Don’t have my wallet.” He says cheerily. Oh what it would be if Tina herself were this blissfully drunk. “You got any money for him lady?” Tina shut her eyes, sighing. “I don’t.”

“Well then, he ain’t going anywhere is he?” The driver snaps. Tina groans and drags the drunk out of the cab. As the driver tears off the curb she stares at the man in front of her. He’s swaying and singing, completely oblivious to the trouble he’s caused her. Even so, his disheveled look makes her feel bad for him. She can’t just leave him on the side of the street to sober up. This was New York for the love of God. She decides to do the next best thing. She throws his arm over her shoulder and begins to lead him back to her home.

Dragging him was easier said than done. This stranger simply didn’t want to cooperate with her. He had a bad habit of throwing himself backwards when he tried to hit a high note. He kept screaming at passersby that he was Iron Man. It drew attention to her, turning her face red. She pressed on, however, trying to duck and hide.

As her building came into the sight, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. Home, her tiny, crappy, living space was well within reach. She could settle him on her shitty bed and leave him to his own devices. He’d be safe there at least.

Tina was so damn busy with trying to keep the man on his feet she couldn’t open the door. She setlles for banging on it with her foot. Mrs. Burbank comes quickly. The door opens to reveal a short black woman with steel hair and an even steelier gaze. She looks at Tina and her new friend disapprovingly. “He needs a place to stay.” Tina defends. “Just to sleep it off, I swear, nothing else.” Mrs. Burbank rolls her eyes and moves aside. “Thank you Mrs. B!” Tina says brightly, dragging the man into a building.

Mrs. Burbanks was an old black woman from the south, who had moved to New York to get away from ‘family issues’ as she likes to put it. She and her husband at managed to make a decent enough amount of money to move into an Italian neighborhood. They’d bought the house Mrs. Burbank currently rented out to four other tenants. Six bedrooms, one kitchen, three bathrooms.

All four tenants got along rather well. Mostly staying out of each others’ way, They had dinner together once a week. Yuri and Anton lived in the room right across from Tina. They were a nice couple, looking to settle down and start a life in America. Tina was sure Yuri had been part of the mob. No man had as many scars as he did and live a peaceful life.

Florence Stenson was an old friend of Mrs. Burbank. She didn’t come out of her room much, but every Tuesday, she and Tina had tea. They’d listen to old Frank Sinatra songs and waltz. Sometimes they painted. Florecne was good at it, but Tina was crap. It was a fun way to pass the time either way.

Tina sets the man just outside her door. He’s going through a particularly inspired version of Bohemian Rhapsody when Yuri opens his door to see what the hell is going on. She smiles sheepishly. “Um, I need to stay over?” She says. “No job?” He asks, completely ignoring the man on the floor. “Unfortunately, no.” She admits. She opens her door and drags the man to his feet. “I’m Iron Man.” He says again. “I know.” Tina mutters through gritted teeth. She leaves the door open behind her, setting the man gently on his bed. He looks pleased to be able to lie down on something other than concrete. 

Because Tina lives alone, she has the smallest room. Her tiny bed is shoved up against a wall, a book shelf, a cheap plastic table with it’s equally cheap plastic chair are the only furniture. She has a fridge that’s unplugged, that sits in the corner. Years ago, Mrs. Burbank had installed a counter and a sink. There’s no stove, but Tina has always mad do with her portable range. Cooking for one was easy, and she never had guests.

Tina let’s the man settle, then begins to take off his shoes, leaving his sock on. She goes on to remove his suit jacket and his tie. The man pushes her off, looking very suddenly looking very serious. “You’re not seeing little Iron Man.” He slurs. “Not without a kiss first.” Tina looks at him incredulously, but simply laughs it off. She pulls her last water bottle from the fridge, and some pain killers and places it on the floor next to him. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she tells him, throwing her blanket over him. The man immediately falls asleep.

Tina walks out of her room and shuts the door behind her. Yuri is still standing in his doorway, looking at her curiously. “I couldn’t just leave him in the street.” She sargues. “You are too nice for your own good.” He mumbles, letting her into his room.

*

Tony cracks open an eye, feeling a sense of panic. This was not his home. Try as he might, he can’t remember what happened after that fifth shot of tequila. Oh God, had he gone home with someone? Had anything happened to him? He looked down at his clothes, they were still on him, except for his shoes, tie, and blazer jacket. He looks around the room, slowly.

It was dinky, but bright. The walls yellowed with age, the light thanks to the curtain less windows. The small bookshelf he saw held mostly college text books. A fridge that wasn’t even plugged in. A table and two chairs were next to the window. That was it. Alright, he’d woken up in worse places than this. He sits up slowly. Next to him, on the floor, is a bottle of water and painkillers. He scoops them up and downs them.

There’s a knock on the door. He lays back down, not wanting to face the person coming in. They might get handsy, or irrational if he tried to leave too quickly. He did peak though as the door opens to reveal a woman walk through. He didn’t get much of her face. From what little skin he could see, he knew she was a rich tan color, and her black, curly hair was in a ponytail.

After putting something down she turns to him. “Sir?” She whispers, grabbing his shoulder gently. He doesn’t move at first. “Excuse me sir?” She tries again, shaking him gently. This time, he cracks open an eye. The woman smiles gently at him. She was pretty. A smattering of freckles across her straight nose and high cheekbones. Full lips pulled over white teeth, and the most intense blue eyes he’d ever seen.

“I brought you breakfast.” She says quietly. “It isn’t much.” She motions to the table. He looks at it to see two bowls of steam. “You don’t have to eat if you don’t want. I’m sure you just want to be on your way.” She backs up, not turning her back to him. He sits up slowly. “Your shoes and stuff are near the door.” She jerks her head in that direction. Sure enough, his jacket and tie were hanging neatly over his shoes. He still said nothing, but gets up and settles in the chair opposite her.

He looks at the meal in front of him. It was rice and sweet potato, a combination he had never seen before. “I’m told it helps with hangovers.” She says. “But then again, what doesn’t help right?” Tony simply stars at her. If it’s awkward for her, she didn’t show it. Instead, she digs into her own bowl of rice.

Eventually he does as well, delighted to find that it wasn’t as bad a breakfast as he would’ve thought. He scarfs it down, despite the rolling waves of nausea in his stomach. “Did anything happen last night?” He finally asks, curious. The girl chuckled. “No sir. Nothing happened. You just sort of ran into me screaming you were Iron Man is all.”

“So, you brought me back to your apartment?” He said. She shrugs. “Couldn’t leave you out on the street.”

“Sure, you could’ve.” The girl shrugs again. No one was really that nice, were they? “Thank you,” He says, trailing off. “You’re welcome sir.”

“Tony.”

“Pardon?”

“My name, Tony Stark.” He stretches out his hand. “Martina Rogers.” She says, shaking his hand. It was a good handshake, firm grip like his father had taught. “Pleasure.” He mutters. “Pleasure’s mine.” She repeats. After he finishes breakfast, Tina clears his plate and begins to rinse them in the sink. Tony stares at her hard for a few minutes. There was something that bothered him about Martina, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Alright. Well, I’m off.” He says, getting up quickly, he wants to out of this place, away from this strange new woman that’s entered his life.

“Sure Mr. Stark.” The girl says, not even turning to him. He rushes to put his shoes and jacket on. As he sprints down the rickety steps of this god-awful building, she follows him patiently. She calls after him, wishing him a good day, and shuts the door behind him. He doesn’t stop to acknowledge her.

He’s so wrapped up in trying not to think about Martina Rogers, getting picked up by Happy, finding his missing wallet, and getting home doesn’t even register. He only comes out of his thoughts when he’s alone, sitting in his lab. He looks around, briefly wondering how he got there, deciding he doesn’t care, then goes about trying to keep himself busy.

First, he tries to make a new suit, then, he tries to clean up, after that, he tries actually building something. Nothing works. He gets up and rushes from his lab, trying to get some peace. He wonders around his silent home, irritated, wanting noise, yet not being able to stand it. What the hell is wrong with him?

In the end, he throws himself on his bed and closes his eyes, trying his best to sleep. While he dreams, he swears he can smell sweet potatoes.


	2. Stuck

  As Tina walked home covered in oil and grease, she counts the cash in her hand. A hundred bucks. It’s the most she’s had in nearly a month. She divvies out seventy-five for her rent, keeping the extra for her. She’s going to squirrel it away for now. She should have enough for groceries soon.

           The near panic she’d been feeling for a few days ago was now almost completely gone. Sure, things were dire, but at least she had friends to help her out, and besides, it wasn’t like she wasn’t willing to work for her keep. Which reminded her, Mrs. Burbank needed some roofing done, as well as some rat traps put up. A small smile breaks out over her face. Hey, she may be dead broke, but at least she isn’t dead broke and out on the streets. It’s the little things, right?

           She rounds a corner, feeling rather optimistic, but stops. Something just isn’t right about her street corner. She takes a few moments to shield her eyes before she walks closer. It wasn’t until she was a few paces away when she recognized the thing in front of her building. “Mr. Stark?” She calls, rushing to his side. “Who is that?” He asked, clearly distressed. She leans over him, frowning. “Mr. Stark what on earth are you doing on the ground?” He looks up at her blinking. “A Melanie, no, uh, Margret, no, uh Martin? No, no, Martina! Martina, that’s your name, right? Martina?” She nodds her head slowly, surprised at this turn of events. She hadn’t thought the man she brought home nearly a month ago was actually Tony Stark.

“Hey, could you help me out here, I uh, I’m stuck.” Martina frowns. “Stuck how?” She asks. “Stuck in your suit?” She looks him over, his arms were spread out but his legs were locked together. He looked like a ‘T’ “How’d that happen?” She asks, squatting next to him. “The circuits were fried in a shortwave emp blast.” Tina purses her lips. “Really now? Shouldn’t your arc reactor be on the fritz then, shouldn’t you be dead?” Surprised registered on his face. “I have fixed the reactor in my chest to compensate for emp blasts.”

“But not your suit? That seems like something you would have thought of a long time ago.”

“You know what? Can we not talk about that? I need to get back to the lab to sort this out.” She nods. “I guess you can’t call your Avengers buddies to help you, can you? All your stuff is a part of the suit? GPS? Comms? All that?”

“All that.” Tony said, he was getting a little impatient. “That’s pretty neat.” She says, getting up and walking towards the door. “Where are you going?” He calls, panic seeping back into his voice. “I’m making a few calls.” She informs him.

*

           Tony was getting hot in his suit. The thing really didn’t breathe unless the environmental controls were working. Just as he thought he was going to die in the metal death trap, Tina hovered over him again, blocking the sun. “Carlos is coming over with a truck.” She explains. “We’ll get you back to Stark Towers in no time.”

“My hero.” He mutters, annoyed. She takes a seat next to him, making sure she continues to block out the sun. “Are you ok?” she asks, almost timidly. “Other than being trapped in your suit?”

“Fine.” He snaps. “I’m slowly roasting away in this damned thing, but I’m fine.”

“Would you like some lemonade?” She asks him, not unkindly. “Mrs. Burbank has some. It’s cool.”

“What I would like is to get out of this thing.”

“So you’ve said. Here comes Carlos.” She stands and waves to someone Tony can’t see. “Hey, Tina! What you got there?” Someone yells, they had an accent, and their voice was deep, that was the only thing Tony could pick up on. “Iron Man.” She says, she sounding bored. Really? For most people, having Tony Stark crash land on their front door step is a dream come true, and she’s  _bored_? “Eh? The Iron Man?” Tony hears a truck stop, then someone gets out. Another person leans over him. He was dark, with a thick mustache and beard. “You sure this is the real Iron Man?” He asks.

“I’m sure.” Tina says, leaning over him as well. “Can we not debate if I’m really Iron Man or not? It’s really hot in this thing.”

“Hey, how are you going to pee?” Carlos asks. Tina snickers, and Tony simply glares at him. “You need any help loading him?” Carlos asks, straightening out. Tina hums in thought in thought. “Maybe, lemme try to pick him up.” She says squatting next to him. “Sweet heart, you couldn’t possibly-” Tony started, but to his surprise, Tina wraps her arms underneath him and lifts him from the ground. “Hey!” She huffs, obviously pleased with herself. “Not so bad. Legs aren’t shaking or anything.”

           Carlos chuckles as Tina loads Tony in the bed of the truck. They close the bed, and begin to talk in Spanish. Tony can only pick up a few words, but they sound pleasant. “You know where Stark Towers is right?” Tony asks, ready to get on with it. Tina looks at him, smiling. “Don’t worry Mr. Stark, I’ll have you there in no time at all.” She turns to wave at Carlos and hops into the driver’s seat of the truck. They were off.

           She was careful with him in the back, making very slow turns, never going above forty-five. She takes back roads instead of the highway. He was appreciative of that. People tended to drive worse on a highway. It took longer, but the constant wind cooled him somewhat. With the knowledge that he was, most likely, going back to Stark Tower, he began to think about this mysterious Martina, and how she had lifted him.

           It had been a smooth lift, which meant she was used to lifting heavy things. She had only huffed when she tried to sustain his weight in a stationary position, which told him she might be out of practice. Carlos didn’t seem surprised while she was performing her stunt. Did she do things like that regularly? The only two people who could lift him with relative ease was Thor and Hulk. There was no way she was as strong as the Hulk, but that meant she was close in strength to Thor, she had the strength of a god.

           Was it natural strength? Did she have to work at it? If she did have to work at it, did she have to work hard at it? She was so scrawny. Unhealthy looking. He hadn’t seen even the slightest hint of muscle. Maybe she was a mutant and didn’t know it. Or she could just be strong. The human body did amazing and wonderful things all the time, maybe it was just genetics.

           He threw those thoughts to the side when he saw his building loom over him. Relief floods him. He’s going to be ok. She has a short talk with the security guard at the front gate. She convinces him to look in the back of the truck, and when he does, seeing Tony Stark stuck in his suit, he lets her through, free of charge. She parks as close as she can get to the elevator, and hops out. “There’s a private elevator,” He tells her. “Near the back and to the right. Hidden a little in an alcove.”

“Got it.” She say, dragging him from the bed of the truck and setting him down. Thinking he’s stable, she lets him go to close the hinge. He crashes to the ground almost immediately, making quite the noise. “Oops.” She says, quickly righting him. “Yeah, oops.” He snaps, glaring at her. “Let’s not have any more oops’s ok? That was painful.” She gives him a sheepish smile and throws him over his shoulder. It’s as if he weighs nothing at all. “You know,” She grunts, walking towards the private elevator. “If you had crashed on my front steps three years ago, this would have been no problem for me.”

“But now?” He asks, curious. What happened three years ago? “Now, it’s a little rough. I really need to get back in shape.” She sets him down gently, making sure to keep a hand on him. “There’s a code.” She tells him. “Yes, there is.” They stare at each other for a few minutes. “Well, unless you were lying about being trapped in the suit, I’m gonna need it.” He pursed his lips but gives it to her. “I’m going to change that code you know.” He says. “As soon as I’m out of this suit.” Tina shuffles him into the elevator, chuckling. “Mr. Stark, I can assure you, you’ve nothing I want.”

“Yeah, right. You’re just saying that to lure me into a false sense of security.” Tina looks at him thoughtfully but says nothing. Tony really believed it when she said he had nothing she wanted. Which was more shocking to him than her being able to pick him up. Usually everyone wanted something from him. His lab, his money, his fame, for him to shut his trap. He didn’t know how he felt about her just yet. He only knew she was unsettling.

           They reached his penthouse floor in no time. She hoisted him up and brought him inside. “Oh sir! I’m so glad you’re alright. Shall I alert the others?” F.R.I.D.A.Y sounded. He saw Tina look around. “No, that’s alright F.R.I.D.A.Y, I have this young lady helping me out. Lab is downstairs.” He tells her.

           Tony’s penthouse is in less than stellar condition at this point in time, so Tina has to step over random piles of junk. And frankly it smells a little. If it bothered her, she didn’t say anything. Tony is a little embarrassed. He wants to bake excuses about how busy he’s been, but nothing comes to mind. “Um, need anything else?” She asks. “Ah, yeah. You could start sawing me out of this thing.” She looks around for a saw. His lab is no better than the penthouse. “Where is the saw?”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you sawing me out of this thing.” He decides suddenly. She clasps her hands in front of her, looking at him pointedly. Something about that stand disturbed him. “It’s either you stay in that thing until someone comes to break you out, or I help you get out now.” She says. He grunts, thinking it over. “It’s in the drawer.” He nods to the left. “Could you get my helmet off first please, it’s really annoying me.” She does as he asks, pulling his helmet off gently. He heaves a great sigh of relief, feeling cooler already.

           She takes only a few moments to get his saw. “You do know how to use that thing right?”

“Yes,” She says, plugging it in and flipping the switch. “put sharp spiny end to metal, don’t cut Mr. Stark.” He closes his eyes and starts a silent prayer. When he opens them, she hasn’t moved. “Are you ready?” she asked. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He mutters

           “You have any safety goggles?” She asks. “Top of that pile.” He snaps, wanting her to get it done and over with already. She grabs them, wipes them clean, then begins. When the saw first hit the metal, he winced. The sound is awful.

She works on his arms first, being extra careful with the fingers. Bit by bit he was set free. He flexed and stretched as much as he dared while she was working on him. Four hours later, and he was completely free. To her credit, she had done a neat job. “Thank you.” He says. She shuts off the saw and places it carefully on his desk, putting the glasses beside it. “You’re welcome.” She says, smiling at him. “I’ll just see myself out.”

“Let me get you dinner!” He says, a little too quickly. “I can get Chinese, pizza, Shawarma.” She gives him a polite smile. “No thank you Mr. Stark.” He follows her as she walks up the stairs. He sounds a little desperate as he continues to try and get her to stay. “Are you sure? We could go out or something. I know this French place, or we could go to a German restaurant I know.” She chuckles and turns to him. “Mr. Stark, I really appreciate the offer, but no. I’ve dinner waiting at home for me.”

“C’mon, it can’t be as good as anything I’m offering you.” He immediately regrets his words. He sees Tina wince and look at the floor. “Good night Mr. Stark.” She says quietly, making her way towards the elevator. She doesn’t look at him as they close and let her down

           He mentally kicked himself. Usually, when he says something like that, others just give him a humoring smile, and either go, or tell him to take a rain check. But Tina probably found the phrase insulting. He groans and scrubs at his face. Leave it to him to insult someone who helped him.

Still, he had been really hoping she would say yes. There was something about Martina that intrigued him. Not just her strength either. Maybe it was something about her eyes? Whatever the case, it wouldn’t do to dwell on it. She was out of his life now, never to be seen again.

*

           For the second time that day, Tina makes her way back home from Carlos’s house. She’s returned the truck, thanked him, and took a plate of his wife’s amazing cooking along with her. She’s munching on a piece of pork when someone approaches her. She stops, giving him a quick assessment. He’s big, beefy, and he walks like a soldier. But he hunches his shoulders, trying to make himself look less intimidating. “Sorry to bother you,” He mutters, adjusting his duffle bag. “Do you know where the Burbank residence is, I’m supposed to move in today, but I’m lost.” Tina’s face breaks out into a smile as relief floods her. “You must be my new neighbor,” She says, stretching out a hand. “I’m Martina Rogers. Come on, I’ll show you where to go.” The stranger shakes her hand briefly. “James,” He mutters, ducking his head and following her.

           ‘Nice to meet you, James.” Tina says, offering him some picking from her plate. He denies it. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”


	3. Convention

At first, Tony hadn’t recognized her. Her black hair had been pinned neatly out of her made up face. She was wearing a dress, a powder blue color. Her shoes were sensible, close toed, not too high to wobble on, but nonetheless pretty.

           He once again struggled for her name. When he found it, he yelled it a little louder than he had intended. “Martina!” She jumped and looked around wide eyed. Who could possibly know her here? Her gaze landed on him. Dread didn’t cover her face when she spotted him, so he began to walk towards her. “Mr. Stark. We meet again.” She says, smiling. “What are you doing here?” He asked. Before he could kick himself, her smile widened. “I got invited.” She explained. She leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “Between you and me, the director of the convention knows someone I do odd jobs for. Mr. Wu managed to get tickets to the convention as payment for the roofing I did. This is so much better than I ever thought possible.” She giggled. He chuckled along with her. “I’ve been wanting to come to one of these things for years.” She continues, looking around. “I even got a pass to one of the panels. It’s only one, but it’s thrilling. Don’t you think so Mr. Stark?” Tony looked down at her frowning for a moment.

           He had to disagree with her. Usually, they had to beg him to come to one of these things. Nothing ever interested him here, the people that came were either too high on their own fucking horses or they were dull as rocks. He’d rather be in his lab, tinkering away. Something always needed improvement, something was always more important. But to Tina? To a girl who had nothing, this was an opportunity. Just one panel to sit on, just one chance to be here, for maybe an hour or two, just because she did a favor for someone. “You wanna see something really cool?” He asks. She looked at him and a mischievousness passed behind her eyes. “You won’t get in trouble, will you?” He snorted. “Please, I’m Iron Man.”

“So, you keep saying.” He takes her hand. “C’mon.” He mutters. She went with him willingly, wrapping her fingers around his hand. A small thrill went through him, but he didn’t stop for long to analyze it. He lead her down an endless maze of hallways, then ushered her into a room. “Hey, this isn’t open to the pub- oh! Mr. Stark!” A small man began to yell. He was short, and had wiry silver hair, brown, watery eyes were covered with coke-bottle glasses. Tony recognized the small man immediately. “You’re Dr. Steven Bloom.” Tina said reverently, before she could stop herself. Stark had worked with Bloom once or twice on projects. The man had a scientist’s crush on Tony, he knew. Now was the time to play this up. “Bloom, this is Martina,” He stalled for her last name. “She’d like to see your machine.” Tony urged. Bloom looked between them, blinking rapidly. “Of course, of course.” He said, smiled. “Come this way Ms. ah,”

“Just call me Martina.” She said, letting go of Tony’s hand and walking up to Bloom’s invention. Tony stood at the back, watching as she engaged with Bloom and his team. It was supposed to be a prototype hover car, inspired by Howard Stark’s flying car from the 1940s. Instead of using a propulsion system, Bloom was trying to use magnets. It would never get off the ground.

           He listened in on the conversation, interested in what Tina might say. Dr. Bloom was getting into his diatribe, same old tripe, but Tina seemed to follow along just fine. The old man stopped only once, suggesting that Tina didn’t want to hear about all the technical aspects of it. He obviously missed the look of irritation Tina gave him. She surprised him by explaining one of the greatest flaws in Dr. Bloom’s designs. Sure, it might float, but using the earth’s own magnetic field would be useless. The magnets weren’t strong enough to hold up an entire car. Besides, if the car didn’t have some propulsion system, it wouldn’t move forward, it would just sit there, floating a few inches off the ground.

           Bloom countered with making powerful enough magnets to detect earth’s own magnetic field blah, blah, blah, but she poked holes in that theory as well. It would mess with their equipment, and the readings would come out all wrong. Besides, that would be big and expensive magnets he’d need to use. Dr. Bloom got red in the face and blustered about, yelling at his assistants to figure something out. Tina backed out of the way, looking on curiously. “Do you think I upset him?” she had a small smile on her face. “They would have figured it out eventually.” Tony muttered, watching her watch the scientists. She was curious alright.

           It was then he noticed the way her dress hung loosely about her. She was still unhealthily skinny, no muscle development, arms still noodle like. “Wanna go poke more holes in other people’s projects.” He asks, smirking. This first time around had been so much fun. She worried her lips and looked at him. “God yes.” Tony grabbed her hand again and off they went.

           They spent most of the morning doing just that. Each time he stepped into the room, the Big Head in charge was surprised Tony Stark was there. Each time they were surprised Martina could keep up with them. Sometimes she poked holes in theories, other times, she helped stabilize a component or two on a machine, twice she had gotten into heated debates with other scientists that almost led to blows. It was all entertaining to Tony. She knew her stuff. He supposed she spent most of her time reading up on these things, by herself. Most of the scientists appreciated a captive audience. When she asked questions, she listened to the answers. They listened when she talked as well. She had the sort of prescence you couldn’t ignore, an importance about her that forced you’re your eyes to her face. He knew someone else like that, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

           When it came time for the panels in the afternoon, she was front and center. Tony sat on three of the panels, and she listened aptly. At one of the panels, at the end of the day, he couldn’t remember which one, but he was sure it was the biology one, she had asked tough questions. By the end of the day, he was wondering whether he should hire her or not. He was incredibly impressed.

           They came out of the last panel. Tina looking mighty pleased with herself. “That was fun. Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Want dinner?” He asked. She shook her head. “No, sorry.” Before he could insist, he was swarmed with reporters. “Goodbye Mr. Stark!” She yelled over the cacophony, slipping away. He waded through the reporters, not in the mood to talk to them.

*

           That night, Tina was startled by a banging on her door. She opened it quickly to find James standing outside it. He looked amused. “You might want to see this.” He says. He leads her across the hall to his apartment and points to the television.

           It was Entertainment News. And there, as bright as day was Tony, and Tina, leaned over whispering to each other in a crowded room. Her face was obscured, but you could tell it was her by her dress. Now that she looked at it, it looked ugly on her, too loose, baggy. She looked entirely too skinny. “Today at Rose Hall’s Convention, the enigmatic Tony Stark was spotted with a new beau. No one got a good look at her, but reports say Tony and the new mystery girl were very close, despite his recent split with Secretary Pepper Potts. It seems his recent outing has only fueled the rumor mill. Is this the infamous woman the destroyed Tony’s first real relationship? Sources say this is likely. Stay tuned-” Tina shut the television off. “Oh my God.” She whispered. James but a hand on her shoulder. “Oh my God this is bad, this is so bad.”

“It’s not  _that_  bad.” James reassured her. “It could be a lot worse, they could’ve gotten a picture of your face.” Cold dread sunk deep into her stomach. “They didn’t say my name, did they?” She sounded panicky now. James frowned and looked at her, sensing her fear. “No, they didn’t. I just knew it was you because of the dress.” She ran her hands through her hair, panicked mind coming up with escape plans. Her lock box was all ready to go. There wasn’t anything vital she’d need to take with her, other than a few bottles of water and a bag of rice. She could go on the run at any moment.

           This though calmed her. She had everything she needed locked away in a tidy little hole if need be. She takes a deep breath. Right now, she’s going to play it safe. Right now, she’s going to stay home and wait out the course of events. If she needed to run, she would. This had to work out, she was awfully tired of running.


End file.
